World in seismic shift grip

TENSION: GEOPOLITICAL POLARISATION USHERING IN NEW WORLD ORDER, SAYS FUTURIST

- Hein Kaiser

The world order, as we know it, is staring down the barrel of its own identity crisis. Accelerating geopolitical polarisation, wars of words, trade and missiles that light up various parts of the globe in some form or another are fast ushering in a new world order.

In South Africa, the government of national unity (GNU) will celebrate its first birthday next month. It ushered in a new era of politics and at the same time, the country is trying to find its feet in the present world order while hedging its bets against the future lay of the land.

Futurist, speaker and author Keith Coats is a global expert on leadership in times of uncertainty. He believes the world is undergoing a seismic change and demands new ways of thinking.

It's a second layer of geopolitical and socioeconomic diplomatic challenges for South Africa as the GNU continues to find shape.

"We have to ask ourselves who we are and where we stand in global politics. The GNU was historic, but it has also exposed deep contradictions that we haven't resolved yet. Every party entered the arrangement with its own agenda, but governing still requires compromise and that's where the tension still lies."

Despite the ANC's losses, it avoided chaos, which Coats saw as a sign of democratic maturity.

However, he cautioned: "Democracy is never neat. Even the US deals with dysfunction. The real test is balancing ideals with governance."

In GNU governance, ideological purity is impossible, he said.